Morgan Stanley Boosts MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target to $314.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $262.00 to $314.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MKTX has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.30.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $288.83 on Thursday. MarketAxess has a 1-year low of $192.42 and a 1-year high of $297.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $255.86 and its 200 day moving average is $225.86. The company has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.41, a PEG ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.91.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 33.71%. The company had revenue of $197.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In related news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total transaction of $142,915.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 2,428.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 405.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 47.4% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates an electronic trading platform for institutional investor and broker-dealer companies worldwide. The company offers trading technology that provides liquidity access in U.S. high-grade bonds, U.S. high-yield bonds, emerging market debt, eurobonds, municipal bonds, U.S.